Avengers drabbles
by Hallucifer
Summary: General writing practice. Anything I've scribbled down in less than 500 words. Characters thoughts and such. Please don't expect quality.
1. Know you best

Thor knew Loki better than Loki would have liked.

So Loki made a point of being utterly unbearable and outright vile to his brother as he was locked in a magically reinforced cell back in Asgard. As soon as they'd removed the gag he flung insults and curses in the general direction of Thor, silver tongue at it's sharpest.

Many people said Thor was too impulsive, that he was easily provoked. Maybe that was true. With anyone else. To be fair, many would have reacted to Loki's general bitterness at this point, crude words about wishing he'd killed him, killed them, killed her, smashed "his precious earth" to dust rather than enslaving "those putrid, pathetic creatures".

Even the guards shared shocked looks, turning to Thor and asking whether they should summon his father. Thor shook his head. The guards were sent back to their posts.

Loki smirked. "Going to punish me yourself, brother? Unshackle me and we'll go for round two. Or is round three by now?"

Thor smiled and shook his head again.

Someone else may have risen to it. Someone else may have yelled back. Someone else may have been disgusted. Someone else may have believed that Loki_ meant_ what he said. But then again, Loki never would have said such things to someone else. Whether he realised it or not, Thor didn't know, but Loki only said these things because somewhere deep down he knew that Thor knew.

_I know you, brother._

Because despite that what stood before him was six feet two of proud, glaring would-be-conqueror, all Thor could see was the wide-eyed little boy that had followed him around for so many years, trying so, so hard to impress him.


	2. Play nice

Tony really didn't play well with others.

With other kids, he'd usually broken their toys, or pulled them apart trying to 'improve' them. No one wanted to play the rough and fast games Tony did. The tears were usually his fault. Tony got sent to detention a lot, top grades regardless.

Adults didn't generally like him much either, at least when they got to know him. Tony's 'friends' were his fans and followers. Still no one wanted to play with Tony.

But then Thor had given as good as he got. He couldn't break Steve's toys (what was that shield _made_ of, anyway?!). Natasha always seemed to know what he was up to. There was no chance he could push Bruce around. Clint was _better_ than him at a lot of things. Showing off just didn't work with these guys.

Maybe Tony didn't play well with others. But these guys weren't playing around.


	3. Stranger

I love you. Love_d_ you. Natasha wasn't sure which of the two she meant. Was _this_ even Clint? Black eyes notwithstanding, it looked like Clint, moved like Clint, even smelled like Clint. Was trying to kill her distinctly _not_ like Clint. Because that was everything Clint was to her, wasn't it? Not killing her, that summed them up perfectly.

This was trying to kill her. This wasn't Clint. Maybe Clint was dead, really. Dead already. Define dead. "You have heart" Fury had told her Loki said to him. Yes, that's right. Her heart.

This wasn't Clint. She might have to kill this. It might still have been Clint. She'd rather not. Call it repaying an old favour.


	4. Mutual Friends

"They will not mind! Come on now, if they can tolerate me, they can surely tolerate you too, little brother."

_Tolerate_. But people didn't just 'tolerate' Thor, they loved Thor. Everyone did, no matter how much he bothered them or messed up. Loki, on the other hand... _Tolerate_, that was quite appropriate actually.

"Brother." Thor jabbed him in the arm as they reached the door to Stark tower, or 'A' tower, as it was now. "They are my friends. And my friends will also be your friends, as always."

_No_, Loki thought. _Not my friends. Never my friends._ Sometimes, Thor's dimwittedness was a blessing. Loki wasn't sure he would have been able to take the shame of Thor realising, of finding out. No, blessedly dumb Thor had always missed the snide comments, the mocks, that Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif were anything but his friends.

These 'Avengers' had already laughed at him, ruthlessly pummeled him, seen how weak he was. It would all start again soon enough. Thor's friends were never Loki's friends, and unfortunately, everyone was Thor's friend.


	5. Unloveable

Loki could understand hate. Hate was simple and, really, there were so many valid reasons for... anyone- _everyone-_ to hate him. When Loki believed everyone hated him, life was simple.

Love he couldn't understand. Because who the hell would love him? They had to be lying. It didn't _make sense_ when Thor begged him to come home and looked compassionate and caring. Thor was making fun of him. He could practically imagine Fandral and Hogun and Volstagg and Sif standing behind him and sniggering like they always did.

Convincing himself that people hated him was just easier. Loki knew what to do with hate. He could annoy and aggravate and make them hate him all the more. But love? Loki didn't know what to do with love, so he was terrified of doing it wrong.

This 'love' didn't make sense. He was better off without it, if only people would stop shoving it at him in what he could only conclude were cruel attempts to confuse him.


End file.
